ispace and Digantara are partnering to keep track of objects in cislunar space.
The pact between the Japanese lunar company and Indian space situational awareness (SSA) firm comes at a critical time. As traffic picks up around the Moon from government and commercial missions, knowing what else is in the neighborhood will be critical for safety and deconfliction.
“ispace has been at the forefront of private lunar exploration, and we are excited to complement their proven capabilities with our expertise in space domain awareness,” Digantara CEO Anirudh Sharma said in a statement on Friday. “Through this joint mission, we are laying the foundation for a sustainable lunar ecosystem, where safe operations, resource utilization, and long-term infrastructure go hand in hand.”
Meet the players: The two companies bring different strengths to the partnership to establish SSA capabilities on and around the Moon.
- ispace has attempted two lunar landings, though both crashed into the lunar surface. A third landing attempt is planned in 2027. The company, which went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2023, has offices around the world, including in the US and Luxembourg.
- Digantara opened an office in Colorado Springs, CO, in February to bring its space domain awareness expertise to the US. The company also recently announced a partnership with SEOPS, to help those catching a ride with the launch integrator find their satellites in orbit.
Regional context: India and Japan are already planning to work closely together in orbit at a government level. The two countries’ space agencies—ISRO and JAXA—are partnering on the Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission, which is expected to launch no earlier than 2028 to look for water on the Moon.
The partnership between ispace and Digantara, which followed senior official meetings at the India-Japan Annual Summit in August, unites commercial entities from two of the largest space players in the Pacific.
